Launching the next space age: Colorado Springs symposium gathers global space leaders.

• Author: Pulham, Elliot Holokauahi
• Position: GUEST column - Column

This month, the Space Foundation launches "The Next Space Age." That's our theme for the 25th National Space Symposium, the premier annual gathering of the global space community. As it suggests, the symposium will reflect major shifts in the economies, philosophies and mechanics of space, with these themes emerging:

* Space has become a commercially dominated endeavor.

* Space is global and no nation--not even our own--can claim uncontested superiority.

* Education is critical to maintaining--or regaining--space technology leadership.

* The U.S. space program is at a crossroads, and we urgently need to move ahead.

Although government wields influence, space is no longer primarily a government/military activity. More than 70 percent of the global space economy is commercial, ranging from manufacturing to private launch services to personal spaceflight to products that touch our everyday lives, such as GPS applications. Broad industry representation in Space Foundation membership and on our symposium program clearly demonstrates this trend.

The international space arena is burgeoning. Last month, Iran independently launched a spacecraft into Earth orbit; India has reached the moon and set its sights on human spaceflight; Russia and Europe maintain strong positions; Japan has a fleet of robotic exploration spacecraft as well as a contingent of experienced astronauts; Sri Lanka has announced plans to form a space agency and launch its first satellite; and China is perhaps the fastest-growing world space power.

In all, 14 countries operate or are building spaceports, 25 operate satellites and 50 have part ownership in satellites. International attendees and speakers are integrated throughout our four-day program, including a panel on non-U.S. space activity.

The kind of smart, visionary people the space business requires must be developed and nurtured. Sadly, only 4 percent of U.S. workers are engineers or scientists, and the number we graduate is plummeting. Only one-third of new engineering Ph.D.s from U.S. universities are U.S. citizens. To turn our kids into rocket scientists requires education and inspiration.

This fundamental Space Foundation tenet is reflected throughout the symposium: onsite teacher and student programs; a Space Career Fair; special events for and presentations by new generation space professionals; and awards for advances in space-related education, for making space concepts more accessible to kids, and for...